The Morning After
by Patricia Louise
Summary: Auggie and Annie continue their conversation from the night before. And Annie reluctantly takes on a mission that could change budding feelings.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Auggie and Annie continue their conversation of the night before

Disclaimer: I do not own Covert Affiars, Auggie or Annie.

* * *

With Annie's arms still wrapped around his waist, Auggie turned back to making the pot of coffee. Once the coffee was in the filter basket and the coffee maker turned on, he turned his attention back to Annie. He inhaled deeply through his nose and slowly exhaled. "What's next?"

"I'm not sure," Annie whispered.

From the sound of her voice, Auggie could tell that she was looking up at him.

"After coffee I think I'd like something to eat," Annie remarked a heartbeat later; her tone playful.

Auggie stifled a grimace, but allowed his hands to slightly fist on the counter. "There's a neighborhood café just down the block. They make a mean omelet," he responded, while removing her arms from his waist. "My last girlfriend left a pair of jeans and a T-shirt in my closet. I think they might fit you. Unless of course you want to do the walk of shame," Auggie said with a wry smile; almost thankful that Annie was also ignoring the two ton elephant in the room. They would eventually have to discuss 'THIS', whatever 'THIS' was, but apparently not right now.

"I don't really want to do the walk of shame with you this morning, so I'm going to go see if I can find those jeans and the T-shirt you say are in your closet."

"They're on a hanger at the far left side. There's fresh towels in the basket on the first shelf of the armoire in the bath; might also be a bit of female shampoo and body wash in there, too." He heard bare feet padding back into the bedroom; then the rattle of hangars.

Half-an-hour later, after both had taken showers and dressed and downed at least one cup of coffee each, Auggie was offering Annie his elbow as they stepped out onto the sidewalk. A few minutes later they were settled in a booth of the café.

"Mornin' darlin'," the waitress mumbled as she brushed a mug of coffee against the back of Auggie's right hand.

"Mornin', yourself, Stella," Auggie responded good-naturedly. "I'll have my Saturday morning special. I think my friend would like to see a menu."

"No, I think I'll just have a ham and cheese omelet and dry wheat toast. And coffee."

"Okay, Hun. Be right back with your coffee." Stella padded off into the distance.

"So, you're such a regular here that they know what you want when you get here?" Annie asked with astonishment obvious in her tone.

"Yeah," Auggie remarked with equal measures of pride and embarrassment. "I've been coming here on weekends for a long time. Food's good, reasonably priced, the people here are friendly, and it's convenient." Auggie took a sip of his coffee and sighed with pleasure; his coffee was okay, but here it was just about perfect.

Clinks of porcelain on wood and Annie's mumbled "Thanks," told Auggie that Stella had been back with Annie's coffee and the cream pitcher. A few more clinks and the clang of metal on porcelain told him that Annie'd creamed and probably sugared her coffee. "What were you like before?"

"Huh? Before what? You'll have to be a little more specific," Auggie responded at a total loss to what Annie was referring.

"You don't remember our conversation at Allen's last night? Your monologue after I'd gotten enough liquid courage to tactlessly ask you about your blindness."

"Oh, that one."

"Yeah, that one. What were you like before your sight was taken from you?"

Auggie shook his head and quietly laughed to himself. "Leave it to you, Annie Walker, to cut straight to the heart of the matter. How much of my file have you read?"

"None of it. I got 'dinged' when I tried. I don't have high enough clearance to see your file."

"Ah, then I guess that I need to start at the beginning. I was the fifth, and last, child of Alfred and Abigail Anderson. Mom said that I was the easiest birth she'd had since I was the tiniest baby she'd delivered. She said that if I hadn't had the Anderson eyes, she might have thought they'd given her the wrong baby. I have four older brothers: Adam, Anthony, Alan, and Austin. See a pattern there?" A broad smile washed over his face.

He heard the clatter of dishes on the table and Stella's whispered, "Everything's just the way you like it, and arranged as usual."

Auggie inhaled deeply, savoring the aroma of applewood bacon, mushroom omelet, and sourdough toast. Before he could thank Stella she was gone.

"Looks and smells wonderful," Annie commented.

Auggie picked up his fork and dug in to his meal. He heard sounds of satisfaction from across the table.

Once his hunger was somewhat satisfied, August Anderson continued with his story. "I was always taller than my brothers at the same age, but way thinner. I was unceremoniously picked on by Adam from day one, or so I'm told. Mom said that I never really walked, but ran. Childhood was a mix of torment, sibling fights and parental love. Even though I never realized it at the time, I was smart; always got good grades. . I could always come up with a diabolical way to get back at my brothers. I liked to take electronic and mechanical things apart to see how they worked. Didn't always get them back together right in my earlier years, but got better at that as I aged. In high school I was a nerd, a geek if you will. The brothers all were football players. I ran track. They did okay, but I excelled, both at running fast and in academics. Glencoe was, is, an affluent suburb of Chicago so we never really wanted for the basics and received many of the luxuries in life. Us kids all got a generous allowance, which we supplemented with odd jobs in the community. I had a part-time job at a Radio Shack and used my employee discount to buy electronics and computer stuff.

"Even though I didn't really need it, I got a free-ride to Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Can you guess what I studied?"

"Not really, but I would imagine maybe electrical engineering or computer science," Annie responded.

"Very good guess. I received my BS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. For the heck of it, and to piss dad off a bit, I took ROTC and went active duty once I graduated. Wound up in Fort Bragg, North Carolina and joined Special Forces. From there on, most of my life is classified. I will tell you that I was on a covert mission when this," he waved his right hand in front of his face, "happened. I do not know if the mission continued afterwards or if it was a success."

"Why did you want to piss your father off?"

"He was Air Force. Didn't have much use for ground troops," Auggie replied and chuckled softly.

"How did your brothers turn out?"

"Adam's an Oncologist; he went to Northwestern, too. Tony and Austin are lawyers. Tony is an assistant prosecutor, and Austin practices tax law. He works for a Fortune 500 company. Alan; he's sort of the black sheep of the family. He joined the Marines right out of high school. He's career military."

"Why is career military considered a black sheep?"

"Well, Alan wasn't exactly the brightest of the Anderson boys and didn't go on to college, and he's an odd combination of ground and sea troop. Dad was disappointed with his career choice. We didn't know it at the time, but we were in Iraq at the same time on my last deployment there."

"When was the last time you were 'home'?"

"Just after I was released from rehab; it was a complete disaster. I couldn't get out of there soon enough; and I've not been back to Illinois since. One by one, they've come to visit me here, and behaved themselves, but everyone together at one time is more than I can handle – I don't want or need their pity or babying. I've adjusted to being blind, but they haven't."

"Ever think that you didn't stick around long enough for them to adjust you?"

"You're not the only one that's brought that up, but…" he paused and swallowed a sip of his coffee.

"But what?" Annie touched his left forearm gently, reassuringly.

"This is going to sound … silly … and out of character, but they scare and overwhelm me when they're all together."

"Enough about me," he said after a brief pause. "We have something else to talk about."

"We do? What?" Annie asked in surprise.

"Yes, we do. About last night?"

"What about last night. I had a good time. Didn't you?" Annie's voice was even and unemotional.

"A good time? Is that all it was?" _Damn_, Auggie thought. That was the last thing that he'd wanted. He'd totally screwed up in his lust.

"Can we say that last evening satisfied something for both of us?" Annie said in almost a whisper.

Auggie sighed softly. "I wasn't so drunk that I didn't realize what I was doing. To be honest, you sort of surprised me when you acquiesced to my less than subtle kiss. I expected you to pull away, if not give me a hard slap."

"I wasn't drunk either. I knew when you asked me to escort you to your door what you were up to; I didn't think you were all that drunk to need assistance. I've seen you leave Allen's much more inebriated; when we figuratively had to pour you into the cab. I went with you willingly; with my eyes wide open to where, and what you were leading me into. I was ready to jump back into the game again, and I wanted it to be with you. I was prepared to do my own sort of 'come hither to me' action if you hadn't made a move."

"What were you prepared to do?" Auggie asked in complete astonishment.

Annie leaned over the table and whispered, "I was going to place one of your hands on my ass, and the other under my shirt and on my breast. I knew my usual come hither look would have been wasted on you."

"You, Annie Walker, are full of surprises. But this discussion has not answered my question. Where DO we go from here?"

"Back to your apartment," Annie answered playfully, with a bit of a questioning inflection.

"ANNIE!"

"Yes, Auggie."

"This is NOT the kind of dance that I want to do with you this morning." Auggie was exasperated and he hoped that Annie realized it.

"Why does last night have to change our status? As far as I'm concerned, we're still best buddies who just satisfied a mutual hunger last night. It WAS more than a one-night-stand though. This could develop into something more, but I'm not ready for a committed relationship with anyone at this moment. But if it is to happen, I would like nothing more than for it to happen with you. Does that answer your question?"


	2. Chapter 2

The morning's conversation continues and Annie goes home to an interrogation from Danielle. I've been working on heavy stuff for so long that I thought that a bit of lighter fare would be a good change of pace.

Disclaimer: I do not own Annie, Auggie, or Danielle. I do own a 65# Boxer who thinks she's a lapdog.

* * *

Auggie mulled Annie's words over in his mind. They were still just friends. Friends with benefits, it seemed. It was not what he wanted with her, but for now it would have to do. He would have to be careful with her, proceed cautiously with his attentions. Come on too strongly with her, become too possessive of her and he might lose her completely. He did not want that. She'd said that if she wanted to settle down, she wanted to do so with him. That caused him great internal joy. For all of the confidence he exuded, his lack of sight did give him cause to wonder, at times, if anyone would consider him as a man that they'd like to settle down with.

"Yes, Annie, that answers my question." He smiled at her across the table. He was a happy man as he took another bite of his omelet.

A leisurely fifteen minutes later later Stella wandered back over. "Everything okay, here? More coffee, Auggie? Ma'am?"

"Two cups is my limit this morning, Stella. How about you Annie?"

"I've had my fill, too, Auggie."

"Just the check it appears."

Stella ripped a page from her order book and slid it across the table until it brushed against the side of Auggie's hand before she went back to her other customer.

"I'm ready to get out of here any time you are, Annie."

Annie slid out of the booth and waited for Auggie to do the same. Then they made their way to the cashier's counter by the door where Auggie placed the ticket on the counter. Moments later the person behind the counter was entering the charges into the register. There was a long pause and the subtle clearing of a throat.

"Annie, help me out here?"

She leaned in and whispered, "The total is $14.52. And the guy's got his hand out for payment."

Auggie dug in his front pocket and pulled out his wallet. He offered out his debit card which was quickly snatched out of his hand.

Shortly Annie asked, "Auggie, how much of a tip do you want to leave?"

"Make the total for $18. And just scribble A. Anderson across the bottom, and let's get out of here," Auggie responded with a touch of frustration.

After Annie had placed the receipt in his hand Auggie tucked it neatly into the bill compartment of his wallet and then shoved it back into his pocket. He took Annie's arm after she brushed her hand against his.

Moments later Auggie and Annie were walking back up the block towards his apartment arm-in-arm chuckling over the rude comment Auggie made about the cafe owner's son's rudeness. Just as they were nearly back to Auggie's door, the phone in Annie's pocket chimed.

"Annie Walker," Annie said once she'd fished it out of the pocket and brought it to her ear. "Yes, Danielle, I do know what time it is ... I got a bit too drunk to drive and spent the night with a friend. I'm on my way back to get my car now. I should be home in about an hour. … Yes, Danielle. Good-bye."

"I take it that was Danielle," Auggie said with amusement. "And wanting to know why you didn't come home last night."

"Yeah," Annie admitted. "She has a very wide maternal streak. She is going to give me the third degree when I get back. Who did I stay with? Did we use protection? Is the relationship going anywhere? All things that I would just as soon not discuss with her right now." She paused for a moment, and then sheepishly asked, "We did use protection didn't we? Things got a bit blurred."

"Yes, Annie. I always use protection," he whispered reassuringly. "And it has been months since I was last with anyone." He hated to admit it, but it was true, he hadn't felt like being with another woman in months. Not since he'd started having feelings for one Anne Catherine Walker.

##########

If Annie thought that she could slip into her house without encountering her sister, she was sadly mistaken. She had barely shut the engine off when Danielle swooped down on her like a vulture on its prey.

Annie opened the car door and made a dash for her door with Danielle following closely behind.

Once inside her apartment, Annie deposited the suit she wore yesterday in the dry cleaning hamper and went to sit on her bed.

"Are you quite through trying to ignore me?" Danielle asked exasperatedly settling herself on the bed beside her sister.

"Not quite. But I know that you'll not go away unless I tell you all about my evening. There's not much to tell. One too many beers at a local bar with a bunch of people from work. One of the guys and I were going to share a cab, then one thing led to another and I went home with him. He's a nice guy, someone I might like to date at some time in the future but not right now. We used protection and we talked this morning and decided that we're good friends, but nothing more. Right now."

"And just who is this nice guy that took advantage of my drunken sister?" Danielle questioned with a tone of reproach.

"That is none of your business," Annie replied quickly. "And he did not take advantage of me. We satisfied a mutual hunger. And it was more than carnal lust, too."

"It's not that boss of yours that showed us around the Smithsonian that time? Oh, what was his name?"

"His name is Auggie, Dani. And what if it was? Not saying that it is, but what if it was?" Annie was beginning to feel a bit defensive of Auggie now.

"Oh, don't get your panties in a wad, Annie. He's the only one of the people that you work with that we've met. He seemed like a nice guy. And he seemed to think very highly of you, too."

"He did?" That tidbit of information surprised Annie.

"Yeah, I could tell by the way he spoke about you."

"That's interesting to know. I never thought of him that way." Annie lied convincingly.

"And why not? He's good-looking, charming, witty, and very smart."

"And blind. You forgot to mention he's blind," Annie added cautiously.

"So what. So he can't see. Is that a problem for you, Annie?" Danielle seemed shocked at the thought that she might think less of Auggie because he couldn't see. That was reassuring to Annie.

"No, it's not. Sometimes I forget that Auggie can't see. He's so comfortable with himself that he puts everyone at ease with his blindness. It's just part of who he is."

"He does seem to have a powerful personality. I know that after a short time with him, his being blind just sort of faded away into the background."

"I'll have to tell him that on Monday. I think that knowledge would please him."

"Hey, since that Jai guy seems to have dropped off your radar, why don't you invite Auggie to dinner this Thursday?"

"Why? He's also a very private person. He might not want to come to dinner with us. I've told him all about the losers you've tried to fix me up with. I don't think that he sees himself as a loser." Now Annie was trying very hard not to strangle her older sister. The last thing she wanted was to seem like one of those clingy women who thought that one evening together constituted the beginning of a relationship. And she felt that asking Auggie to dinner this soon after last night might send him the wrong signal. The last thing she wanted to do was frighten him off by appearing to come on too strongly.


	3. Chapter 3

The muse has been busy today. I'll keep them coming as long as the muse gets fed. Chocolate & Chardonay are good, but reviews are better.

Disclaimer: I don't own, Auggie, Annie, Stu or Joan. They belong to the writers of Covert Affairs.

* * *

Driving in to work on Monday morning Annie thought long and hard on how to approach Auggie when she ran into him. They had connected deeply Saturday morning. Yes, they had decided that they were still just friends, but she could not deny the vibes that had passed between them. Even in their buzzed lust, she had been aware of tenderness in his love-making. He had taken pains to make sure that she was satisfied, when he could have simply satisfied his need. That was what she had expected. And, it would have been okay with her. All that she had really wanted was to be with him, to feel his arms around her, to feel him within her. Truth be told, all she had really wanted was to feel. To feel something besides the emptiness that had been her constant companion since her return from Sri Lanka.

His admission of not being with anyone for months had somewhat surprised her. But in looking back, she realized that he had not done the 'walk of shame' since she had returned from Sri Lanka. Nor had she seen him leave with anyone of the bevy of women throwing themselves at him in Allen's. Even his shameless flirting in the office had slowed. Except with her. His attentions toward her had not changed. Could it be that he, too, wanted to be more than just friends?

On her way in, Annie stopped at the Starbucks and got her usual latte, and Auggie's usual coffee. When she arrived at Tech Ops he was not there, but evidence of his arrival was apparent. His sport coat was draped over the back of his chair with his public cane tucked into a side pocket.

The main door into the room opened and Annie turned to see Stu with his hands full of files.

"Mornin' Stu," Annie said brightly. "Do you know where Auggie is? I've got his morning coffee."

"Morning, Annie. He's up with Joan. She wants to see you, too," he said in reply as he crossed the room to his work station.

Annie picked up the cup of coffee that she set down for Auggie and headed up to Joan's office.

When she arrived in Joan's office she was aware of the serious look on Joan's face and an equally grim one on Auggie's. He had pulled one of Joan's side chair up to the front of her desk and was reading the Brailed pages before him. There was a regular file on the desk in front of the other side chair.

As she entered the room, she closed the door behind her at Joan's gesture. She nodded her greeting to Joan. "Morning, Auggie. I've got your morning coffee. Where would you like for me to set it down for you?"

"Morning, Annie. Thanks for the coffee." He stopped reading the page and held out his hand. Annie brushed the back of his hand with the warm cup. He quickly grasped the cup and took a sip before setting it down next to his file on the desk.

Annie picked up the file and sat down. After reading for a few minutes she asked, "When do I leave? And I'm assuming that Auggie will be in my ear for the duration?"

"You will leave for the airport within the hour. Cover Ops has packed a suitcase with enough clothing appropriate for your cover for a week, and your cover passport will be delivered to your desk within the next half-an-hour. Auggie has not assigned your handler yet. He wanted to speak to you privately before he did. Do you have any questions about your Op or your cover before you leave?"

"No, ma'am. Seems pretty straight forward to me," Annie said to Joan. It was a pretty straight forward Op and cover. She was to portray a well-off twenty-something traveling the world to get over a failed romance. She could play that role in her sleep. The only thing different would be the well-off part. Hooking up with the male officer in London was the only part that she did not relish. A one-night-stand would not be welcomed, even if it was for the job. Maybe she could get away with some flirting and heavy petting and not have to go 'all the way'. Auggie clearing his throat and saying her name brought her thoughts back to the here and now.

"Earth to Annie," Auggie said once again.

"Sorry, Auggie. I was just running over things in my head," Annie admitted sheepishly. She looked around and noticed that it was just the two of them in the room. "Where'd Joan go?"

"She went to get herself a cup of coffee so that I could talk to you in private." He located his coffee and took a drink.

"Why do you need to talk to me in private? What's up?" The serious look on Auggie's face made Annie nervous.

Auggie fidgeted in his seat. "Annie," he began, "about the other night. I don't think I can be your handler on this mission given what you might have to do." He hung his head, his gaze falling from her head.

"What? Why?"

"I don't think that I can be objective listening to another man being with a woman I care about as much as I care about you. If you're to be with someone I want it to be with me. I know that it would just be for the job, but … I can't, Annie. I just can't."

"Auggie, did you tell Joan that we hooked up the other night?"

"No, that's just between us. I just told her that I wanted to talk over the reasons that I might want to hand you off to Stu for this mission. Stu's not had many lengthy Ops and I wanted to give him more experience there if it was okay with you."

"Could you handle some heavy petting? Even for the job, even if it's part of the protocol, I don't want to do that with anyone but you, either."

Auggie's head lifted and his gaze returned to her face. The hardness that had been in his features before softened a bit. "Really?"

"Yes, Auggie. I was trying to find a way to get out of going all the way with him if it even came to that. I'm supposed to start my period any day, and I know that's a turn-off for most men."

"It can be a turn-off, yes. Then I hope that Mother Nature visits you soon." A smile worked at the corners of his mouth.

"Auggie, we're too good of a team to not work together on this Op," Annie stated as the door opened and Joan re-entered her office. "Can you please train Stu with someone else?" Annie evoked a pleading tone in her voice. "Stu's a nice guy and probably a very good handler, but we're a team now, Auggie."

"Do you two have this worked out now?" Joan asked as she settled herself behind her desk once again.

"Yes, Joan. I'll be her primary handler in the critical parts, and will turn her over to Stu for the more mundane parts. If that's okay with you?"

"It's you department, Auggie. All I need to know is who's going to be handling my people," Joan said with a tone of dismissal. "Oh, Annie, could you stay for another moment? Auggie, close the door behind you please."

Once Auggie was out of the room and the door closed, Joan turned her attention to Annie. "There will be a fresh pack of condoms in your luggage. Just in case you have to use them. I do hope that they will not be necessary. We may, on occasion, jeopardize our officer's lives, but that is one area that we do not like to take chances in. I hope that you being in the middle of your period will keep you out of his bed."

"Huh? How did you know?"

"We know a lot about our officers, down to when our female officers are on their periods. This op is routine, and any of our female officers could have done it. You were the only one who would be on her period. We did not write the protocol for his operation. It came from their side. We're just doing our best to keep our female officer out of his bed if there's any way that we can.

"I also suspect that Auggie did not want to be your handler because of that possibility. He sometimes forgets that we can read his face, even if he can't read ours. I saw the anger in him when he got to that part of the protocol. I know he has feelings for you, Annie. You two are a good team; we don't want to break you up. I could have insisted that he be your handler, but I wanted to give you two the opportunity to work it out yourselves. There is a rumor that the two of you hooked up over the weekend. On one level it's none of our business, but on another it is. Auggie knows this, but I want to make sure that you understand it also, yes, dating within the company is acceptable as long as it does not affect you ability to work together as a team."

"I understand everything that you've just said, Joan. Are you having me followed?"

"No. Dismissed."

* * *

So different from 'In the Beginning'. I'm having fun with this one. Are you having fun reading it?


	4. Chapter 4

Annie's in Europe - first to Lisbon and then to Paris. Will her cover be blown?

This is a slightly different sort of story for me. I hope that you enjoy my offering.

Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Covert Affairs, Annie or Auggie. I just like to take them out of the box and play with them once in a while.

* * *

After she'd left Joan's office, Annie had barely had time to call Danielle with her Smithsonian cover story, and get to Washington International in time to go through security and make her flight. There wasn't even anytime to stop by to bid her leave to Auggie.

During the last leg of her fourteen hour flight from DC to Lisbon, Annie took a mild sedative and slept the rest of the way to Lisbon in her window seat in First Class. The company didn't mind spending money on First Class if needed to sell a cover it seemed. Her flight landed on time and she made it through customs in time for a late breakfast in Lisbon. She called and checked in with Auggie as she ate.

"Good morning, Auggie," she chirped into the phone when he picked up.

"It's not a good morning for me," he growled into the phone on his end. "I've been here since before 3:00 waiting for you to check in. I know your flight was on time, so what have you been doing for the last two hours?"

"It took a while to get through customs. Then I took a cab to the hotel and I'm now getting a bite to eat."

"You were to call in as soon as you touched down in Lisbon," Auggie shot back exasperatedly.

"Sorry, Auggie. As long as I checked in I didn't think that it mattered WHEN I checked in. Has anything changed with the protocol?"

"No, It remains the same," Auggie said evenly.

"Then what's the big deal?" Realization dawned in her jet-lagged brain. "Oh, Auggie, I'm sorry. You could have gotten a couple more hours of sleep if you'd known. I'm..."

"It's okay, Annie. Now that you've finally checked in, I can catch a few 'Z's before the department gets too noisy to do so." Auggie's tone had lightened since he began talking with Annie.

"Sweet dreams, Auggie," Annie cooed as she took her phone from her ear and pressed the call end button. She made a mental note to call in as soon as her plane touched down in Paris tomorrow.

On her day wandering around Lisbon, shopping and purchasing the items on her protocol list, and acting like a petulant rich bitch, Mother Nature came to call on Annie. Right on schedule. She was very grateful that her favorite supplies had been packed in her bag.

Later in the day, once she'd completed all of her errands in Lisbon, Annie called back to Langley. "Good evening, Auggie," she said as soon as the call was answered at Langley.

"Sorry, Annie. Auggie's not here right now. It's Stu. What do you have to report?" he said in his most professional voice.

"Where's Auggie?" she intoned curiously. Even though she knew that he'd said that Stu would be handling part of the op, she was surprised to be talking to him nonetheless.

"Joan sent him home a few hours ago. He was dead on his feet. Now that I've told you more than I should, what do you have to report?"

"I've successfully obtained all of the protocol items from the assigned shops. I am being followed. I do not feel threatened. He's a generic looking Eastern European of average height and build, regular features, dark blonde hair, clean shaven, confident gait, and no distinguishing characteristics. He's dressed like an average Joe in jeans, tennis shoes, and a black Harley-Davidson Lisboa T-shirt. I've tried to lose him, but it's like he's got a copy of the protocol; he just seems to show up at every stop I make."

"Anything else to report?"

"Just thank the girls who packed for me; love the clothes and supplies. Oh, and let Joan know that everything is on schedule," she wanted to let Joan know that everything was going as planned but didn't feel comfortable in just telling Stu. She wasn't sure that she could even tell Auggie that.

"Hang on a minute, Annie. Joan just walked in. You can tell her yourself."

"Annie? Joan here. How's everything going?" Joan said evenly.

"Everything is right on schedule. The packed clothes and supplies are very welcomed. I appear to be being followed. Stu has the details on that."

"Good. Glad to hear that all is going according to plan. Be sure to make your check-ins on time."

The phone went dead as Joan hung-up.

The evening and next morning went smoothly. She arrived back at the airport in plenty of time to make her 8:10 non-stop Air France flight to Paris. As she waited to board she picked-up her phone and speed-dialed headquarters. A very sleepy Stu answered.

"Mornin', Stu. Just checking in. All's well here. Any messages? Oh, the guy from yesterday seems to be on the same flight. He's dressed in a suit and tie, but I'm 99% sure it's the same guy."

"No message from Joan, but there is one from Auggie. He says that he'll be with you tomorrow and to make sure that your gear is ready to go. I'll pass on the stalker information to Joan. Have a good flight and I'll be expecting a check-in as soon as you touch down in case there is a change in plans. I'll be checking the passenger manifest to see if any names are suspicious."

Boarding call was announced and Annie took her seat on the flight. She arrived in Paris just a bit past noon Paris time. As soon as she was in the concourse, she found an out-of-the-way corner and punched the speed dial for Langley.

"Smithsonian, how may I direct your call?" Auggie answered animatedly.

"Annie Walker, acquisitions, please," Annie responded playing along.

"Ms Walker is out of the office. This is Mr. Anderson. May I be of assistance?"

"Where's Stu? I thought I'd be connecting with him until tomorrow," she queried with a hint of confusion.

"He, too, is out of the office. I sent him to get coffee."

"I'm just checking-in. We landed just a few minutes ago. Anything new that I need to know about?"

"Yeah. When Stu ran the passenger manifest a name popped up. Not Eastern European, but might be your tail. I'm going to send you a picture. Let me know if that's the man you've been seeing."

"Okay, I've got it." She quickly switched applications and looked at the picture before switching back to phone mode. "Yeah, that's the guy. Who is he?"

"Name doesn't matter. It's one of a string of aliases that he uses. He's one of us. I'll have to tell his company that he needs to go back to school. He was spotted by one of ours." Auggie explained and then chuckled lightly.

"So, why do you think he's following me?" Annie asked. It was odd to know that she was being followed. Usually she was the follower, the observer.

"Just speculation here, but probably to make sure you're following protocol," Auggie said. "It's been known to happen when more than one company is in on the op."

"There's more than one company in on this?" Annie did not like the idea of not completely knowing what was going on while she was working in the field.

"It's a possibility, but if it is it's not sifted its way down to us. Anything else from your end?"

"Nope. Oh, wait. Is there any chance this guy's gone off book?"

"Of course that is always a possibility, but I've seen his dossier, and he's been as straight as they come. Don't worry about that, just remember to check-in on time," Auggie said by way of parting.

As Annie made her way from gate to baggage claim she was on the lookout for her tail. She was hoping for a chance to deliberately bump into him. She rounded a corner at baggage claim and there he was. Annie dug her phone from her handbag and began to text.

* * *

I am interested in how you, dear reader, are liking this story and if I should continue with it.


	5. Chapter 5

Annie learns something about her tail, and her feelings for a certian blind handler.

Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to Annie, Auggie, or Covert Affairs. Damn.

* * *

Carefully watching where she was going while pretending to text, Annie deliberately ran headlong into the man who had been following her the day before.

"Oh, sorry," she exclaimed as she bounced off her stalker. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going," she cooed while provocatively stooping to retrieve her phone, letting the man get a quick glimpse of her cleavage as she did.

"No, that's okay, Miss –" he said a bit flustered.

"Anderson. Annie Anderson," she said extending her right hand. The alias name flowed off her tongue all too easily. When she'd read the name in the protocol, she'd had to stifle an eye roll and exasperated sigh. Whoever had devised that name was sick she'd thought. But then she remembered what Auggie had mentioned later, the cover name had not come from them but the other side.

He took up her hand and replied, "Are you all right Miss Annie Anderson." He had a thick British accent.

"Oh, I'm fine. I just need to watch where I'm going. Are you okay Mr. –?"

"Grey. Earl Grey. Don't say it. I get the tea jokes all the time. My parents had a sick sense of humor it seems."

"Oh, I wouldn't think of making a comment like that," Annie batted her eyes innocently. Then she leaned in and whispered, "Are you going to follow me around Paris like you did Lisbon, Mr. Grey? If you are, we can just share a cab and save our agencies a bit of money."

"I don't have any idea what you're talking about, Ms Anderson. I didn't follow anyone around Lisbon," Earl whispered back. There was the faintest hint of alarm in his tone.

"If you weren't following me then it was a hell of a coincidence that you just turned up everywhere I went," Annie whispered back, her tone authoritarian and steadfast.

Earl let out a puff of air. "I've been assigned to protect you until you make it to your destination in London. There are those who do not wish this mission to succeed. Now laugh and push me away, then go get your bag."

Annie did as she'd been instructed and headed off toward baggage claim with an air of indignation. She did not look back. On one hand she felt better knowing why she was being followed, but, on the other, she wished she was still in the dark. She no longer had a good feeling about this mission.

Once she had claimed her bag, she caught the shuttle to Hyatt Regency where she checked in to her Regency Club room. Once in the room she called Langley. Stu answered.

"Ah, back from your coffee run I see," Annie said as soon as Stu answered.

"Yeah. How did you know I went on a coffee run?" Stu said with surprise.

"I called in a bit ago. Auggie told me that you weren't available 'cuz you went on a coffee run," Annie replied light-heartedly. Then in a more serious tone she added, "I've got some information to pass on. Can I talk to Auggie?"

"He's up with Joan. As soon as I got back with the coffee he took off. I'll take the message and pass it on to whoever needs to get it."

"Okay," Annie said with disappointment. "Was the suspicious name on the passenger manifest Earl Grey?"

"Yeah. He's MI6. British Intelligence. Didn't Auggie tell you?"

"No, he didn't, but Mr. Grey is following me to protect me from someone who doesn't want the mission to succeed."

"How do you know that?"

"I ran into him and we had a chat. Just let Auggie and Joan know."

"I will. Talk to you later."

After hanging up, Annie was surprised to feel profoundly lonely. She had hoped to hear Auggie's voice again when she called back and wondered what had prompted the trip to see Joan so soon after talking with her. The lonely feeling was not new to her, but, for the first time a long while, she knew what it would take to fill the hole in her soul.

For the rest of the afternoon and into the early evening, Annie spent her time shopping and dining in Paris on the Champs-Élysées per protocol. She looked for and saw Mr. Grey several times. It was easy for her to get into the lovelorn persona. She seriously wished that she could show a certain member of Tech Ops the sights of Paris.

She was quite tired when she returned to her hotel, but not so tired that she didn't notice that something was amiss in the room. Nothing was glaringly out of place, but just enough so, that Annie noticed. She was glad that she'd place the acquired Lisbon items and her earwig in the room's safe upon arrival. With great caution she looked under the bed and in the closet. As she had figured, no one was hiding anywhere in her room, nor did she find any obvious listening devices. No calls would be placed back to Langley from the room, just to be safe.

Annie finally fell asleep reliving the morning that she'd spent with Auggie. His every touch had set her afire. The feeling of his expert tongue playing with each nipple in turn as his mouth had suckled her breast had been ecstasy; it had driven her to climax as it flicked around her nether region. The touch of his long, delicate fingers had been so sure; it was as if he were reading her like one of his Braille files. His kisses had been sweet, and very, very sensual. Their tongues had danced well together; his mouth had possessed hers with a savage grace. When they had coupled, it was as if they were made for each other.

The next morning she groggily answered her wake-up call. A quick shower and a cup of coffee revived her enough that she was able to remember what she was to wear this day. She pulled the low-cut mauve silk blouse out of the suitcase and put in on. Per protocol, she did not tuck it into her black denim shorts. A few more strokes of her brush and her beyond shoulder-length blonde tresses lay softly about her face. Her beautifully pedicured feet slipped easily into the black Birkenstock thongs. Exquisitely manicured hands fastened the tiger pendant around her neck, and slipped the earwires of the diamond dangle earrings into the hole in her lobes. Each finger of both hands sported a ring.

Quickly she finished gathering her things and headed down to the breakfast area for a quick bite of breakfast. Earl Grey was in the lobby when she arrived to check-out. They shared, but did not acknowledge each other, a shuttle to the train station where they'd catch the TGV to London.

* * *

I've not been getting many reviews/comments. The muse is feeling rejected. Happy muse means more story. Rejected muse will not write more.


	6. Chapter 6

I'm not happy at all with this chapter and the turns that muse is taking. I will try to force the muse into getting this completed in no more than two more chapters (one if I can). This story, and style were an experiment. As far as I'm concerned it was a fail.

Disclaimer: I don't own or have an interest in Covert Affiars, Auggie, Annie, Joan, Stu, or Jai.

* * *

The hotel Shuttle got them to the station in plenty of time to make the 8:30 TGV train to Lille Europe for the connecting train to London's St-Pancras station. Annie would have preferred to have flown to London, but the protocol dictated the train.

Once she'd disembarked from the shuttle bus, Annie found an out of the way place and called in to Langley.

Even though it was slightly after 2:00 AM in DC, Auggie answered cheerfully, "Bonjour, Annie. Qu'est-ce qui se passe aujourd'hui?" His enunciation was actually quite good.

"Didn't know you spoke French," Annie replied in amazement.

"Lots of things about me that you don't know Ms Walker," he said in a seductive tone. Then continued in a more professional one, "I don't really speak French, just enough to get into trouble. So, what is happening today? Stu passed your information along. How did you obtain that tidbit?"

"I took the bull by the horns and quietly confronted him. He reluctantly passed that on. It appears that he'll be on the train with me, too. We shared a shuttle from the hotel. My room was gone through yesterday. All of the intel was either with me or in the safe in the room. No sign that any of that was gone through. So far I've been following protocol to the letter, but was wondering if I shouldn't deviate a bit?"

"No, Annie. Don't deliberately deviate. Just keep as aware of what's going on around you as you can. Watch for Jai in Lille. Joan sent him over immediately after we spoke about Mr. Grey yesterday. He'll be on the train with you into London and shadowing you there until the mission is complete."

"Do you believe Mr. Grey's story?"

"We've been in touch with British Intelligence. They've neither confirmed nor denied. Just be careful, Annie. Be careful." There was something more than professional in his cautionary directive.

"I will, Auggie. I'm always aware, but I'll be hyper aware today. I want to make it back home in one piece."

"And I – We want you back in one piece," he said as he disconnected the call.

Boarding call was announced and Annie hustled to the platform. A few minutes later, as Annie settled into her seat and began to look through the 'Marie Claire' that she'd found on her seat, she noticed Mr. Earl Grey come in and establish himself in a seat somewhere behind her. She couldn't help but sigh exasperatedly and roll her eyes. She never had been completely comfortable with Mr. Grey's account of why he was following her, but she now had an even less confidence in it. If something wasn't quite right with his story, why was Joan sending Jai?

The train soon jerked into motion and was soon speeding across the French countryside. An hour later the TGV pulled into Lille. As the passengers disembarked, Annie noticed that Mr. Grey hung back and was one of the last off the train. While she was schlepping her bag from one platform to the other, Jai fell in beside her carrying a bag of his own. He spoke to her over the din of the station.

"Since you've made it this far without incident, if anything is going to happen I expect it will be on this leg of your journey. When you board the next train, take a window seat in the back of the car. I'm going to take the seat beside you. We will have a nice conversation about what you've been doing here in Europe, just like we're two strangers and I'm trying to make time with you."

"What's going on, Jai? I'm really starting to have a bad feeling about this."

"So did the DCS. That's why I'm here. I'm going to pretend I get a call and drop back for a bit. I want to keep an eye on the Grey character." Jai reached in the chest pocket of his blue button down shirt for his phone.

Anne kept on walking. A few minutes later she took a seat in the waiting area for the train to London. She didn't see either Mr. Grey, or Jai, until after she'd boarded the train. Per Jai's instructions she took a seat by the window in the back of the car. Mr. Grey did not seem pleased as he walked past her on his way to find a seat. Just before the train pulled out, Jai took the seat beside her. For the next hour-and-a-half, Jai and Annie enjoyed a flirtatious discussion of the wonders of Paris and the marvels of London. Annie thoroughly enjoyed the diversion as well as the lively conversation. They arrived in London without incident.

##########

"Auggie, have we heard from Annie and Jai yet?" Joan asked as she enter his office.

"Not yet," he said as he checked his watch. "They're not due into London for another fifteen minutes."

"Have we gotten anywhere with British Intelligence in finding out more about their officer?"

"No, Auggie. They are still stonewalling us on that issue. And, that does not give us a good feeling about him and his presence on this mission," Joan relayed with concern. "I'm glad that you brought your concerns to us as soon as Annie mentioned that she was being followed. Gave us plenty of time to get Jai on a plane and over there to back her up."

"Any reason you sent Jai over one of the other guys?"

"I got all the available guys together and Jai volunteered to go," Joan said.

"It's not like Jai to volunteer for those long flights over the big pond, only to have to turn around and come right back."

"I was a bit surprised, too, but he seemed eager to go."

"He did?" For some reason Auggie didn't like the sound of that. He knew that when Annie had started with the company, Jai had been told to get close to Annie, and ever since they'd come back from Sri Lanka Annie had been very cool toward Jai, but with all of that history Auggie why Jai would volunteer to be on a mission with Annie he could not fathom.

"Yes, he did."

* * *

If you feel like leaving a comment leave one. If not, muse will understand.


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks to the few who have offered comforting words for this endeavor. The muse is alternately stuck and running away full tilt. Soon, very soon I hope, Annie will be running back into Auggie's open arms for some comfort and probably passion. Not this episode, but hopefully in the next one. I know where this is going, now I just have to figure out a convincing way to deal with Mr. Earl Grey. I know where the muse wants to go, but I'm not sure that I'm brave enough to let that happen.

Disclaimer: Don't own, just like to play with the characters for a bit of sometimes frustrating fun.

* * *

As Jai and Annie disembarked from the train, they parted with Jai asking Annie if they could share a cab to her hotel.

"Mr. Wilcox, I'm not going straight to my lodging. I have to meet some friends first. Otherwise I would enjoy continuing our conversation," Annie said extending her hand for a parting handshake.

"Miss Anderson, are you sure that I can't at least accompany you as far as your next stop?" There was a nice pleading tone to his voice that amused Annie. He was so getting into his role she thought.

"Well, Mr. Wilcox, since you seem so intent on being with me for a bit longer, I'd love the pleasure of your company a bit longer," Annie replied with a flirtatious smile.

As they worked their way through the Victorian charm of St. Pancras station, Jai and Annie noticed 'Mr. Grey' talking with another man. Neither looked pleased when they looked at Jai and Annie walking out together.

As Annie exited from the building, the encrypted phone in her pocket chirped. Just as she punched the button to take the call, the phone in Jai's breast pocket also began to chirp. Each took a few steps away from the other to take their respective calls.

"Annie, how was the journey to London?" Auggie asked as soon as the call was answered.

"The trip was fine. Jai is surprisingly well versed in the marvels of Paris and especially London. We had a lively conversation."

"I'm sure that Wilcox talked your ear off," Auggie replied. "Any signs of trouble?"

"None, but we just passed Mr. Grey talking to some other guy and they did not look at all happy."

"I'm sure that they're not. It's good that you didn't make any calls back here from your room in Paris. We sent in a cleaning crew after you left. They found several well placed, and well disguised bugs. Very sophisticated listening devices that were hard to detect. Even with an electronic sweep, we almost missed them, too."

"Really?"

"Really," Auggie replied sadly. "They're not ours or British Intelligence. We traced them to their recording device. Do you know that you snore?"

"I do not snore," Annie said indignantly.

"They, whoever they are, didn't get anything. Just some running water, and tossing and turning. You don't even mutter in your sleep. A cute little snore now and then, but you really are a quiet sleeper."

"That's good to know I guess." Annie laughed quietly.

"Why did you not call in after you left the hotel? You were supposed to check-in first thing this morning," Auggie reprimanded.

"I didn't think I should from the room, and I never did find a good place between there and the train to do so, and none on the train," Annie replied defensively.

"It's okay, Annie. I didn't really expect you to. I just wanted to bust your chops for it," Auggie said lightly.

"You never miss a chance to do that, do you?"

"Not if I can help it. It's okay. As soon as he saw you, Jai called in and reported. Stu's talking to him right now. Keep an eye out for anything that seems out of place. And don't let that Mr. Grey get anywhere near you. Everyone here doesn't have a good feeling about him. British Intelligence is still stonewalling us about him. That, more than anything else, is what's got us spooked about him."

"What about the mission? Is it still a go?"

"Yes, it's still a go. Got your gear in place?"

"Not yet, I was going to do that in the cab."

"Can you do it now without attracting too much attention?"

"Yeah. Why now?" Annie dug into the black leather bag hanging from her left shoulder and retrieved the device. With one hand she deftly located and turned on the listening device that looked like a common digital hearing aid. She withdrew her hand from the tote and quickly inserted the device into her ear.

"I don't know. I was just instructed to tell you to activate it before you got into the taxi. Destination and all are still the same."

"Done. You picking me up?"

"Loud and clear," Auggie replied with confidence. "Go knock 'em dead Annie."

"I'll be fine, Auggie. It's a piece of cake from here on out."

"I know, Annie," Auggie said quietly. He spoke again, but Annie didn't catch exactly what he'd said.

##########

Annie climbed into the next cab and gave the driver the address. Before the driver could pull away from the curb, the other door opened quickly and a man entered the vehicle. Annie almost expected Jai, even though his accompanying her had been dismissed by Langley. After he'd sat down, the man turned to Annie. It was Mr. Grey.

"Mr. Grey, what are you doing here?" Annie asked with alarm. With Auggie's cautionary words ringing in her head, Annie reached for the door latch to escape the taxi. Mr. Grey grabbed her other wrist and restrained her.

"Is everything alright back there?" the driver asked twisting in his seat.

Before Annie could exclaim that it was not, Mr. Grey said, "Quite all right. Please drive on to the ladies destination."

The cabbie slowly eased the vehicle into the stream of traffic.

"Now, Ms Anderson, to answer your question, I'm here following my directive. Why did you deviate from yours on the train? Who was the gentleman you were talking to on the train?"

"How did I deviate from my protocol on the train? I had no directives to sit in a certain seat. I figured that since nothing had happened before, if it was going to happen it would happen on that leg of the trip and I wanted to see it coming if it did. The gentleman was just another traveler who took a fancy to me. We had a nice discussion about traveling in Europe. It was a welcomed diversion. We were going to share a taxi, until he got a call from his work that would take him in another direction."

"I only half believe you Ms Anderson," he said sinisterly. His grip on her wrist seemed to tighten a bit.

"Which half do you believe?" Annie replied evenly while trying to wrest her arm from his clutch. "Ow, you're hurting me. I'm not going anywhere so you can let go of my wrist."

"I do not believe that your companion was just another traveler taking a fancy to you. We – I think that he's one of yours sent over to protect you from the same entity that I've been supposedly trying to protect you from. Langley should not have sent him, but since they did they should not have pulled him off so soon. Your pooch has been screwed, Ms Anderson. Or should I say Ms Walker?"

"And just how did my conversation with a fellow traveler mess things up? And, contrary to your skepticism, that's all it was, a sweet diversion from an otherwise boring mission."

"No, my dear, it was not completely that. If your agency had really wanted to protect you, they would not have sent someone so well-known to British Intelligence. He was stationed out of your Embassy here for many years. We know all about Mr. Jai Wilcox."


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Still don't own any part of Covert Affairs, Annie, Auggie, or Jai.

* * *

"Annie, if you're reasonably okay, cough twice and say something about dry air. If not okay, cough once," Auggie said into his mic. He was very relieved a few moments later to hear Annie cough twice and remark about the dry air on the train, and then taking a sip of water.

"Okay, got that. Don't know what's going to happen, but Jai is in a taxi following yours. You're not alone, Annie. We've got your back as best we can."

Auggie hung his head and ran his hands through his hair in frustration. He did not like the turn of events happening several thousand miles away. He never liked it when a mission deviated from the protocol, especially with the female operatives, and all he could do was listen and hopefully get help to the agent before she'd gotten too hurt; but now his anxiety was heightened to the max. This was Annie who might be in trouble, the woman he found himself caring about more than any woman he'd ever known before – more than he'd even felt for Natasha, and he'd almost been willing to leave everything behind for her. Losing Natasha had cost him dearly – too dearly; he did not want to lose another woman he loved.

For the next few minutes he listened to Annie and her unwanted companion. Their conversation was calm and mostly civil. At least there were no more yelps of pain. While he was eavesdropping, Auggie was pulling up more information on the British Intelligence officer currently using the moniker of Earl Grey. The deeper he dug into the British Intelligence database, the more confused he became. Nothing he found allayed his apprehension about the man, but neither did it deepen it. There was well-buried evidence that the man was known to go off book, worked ops that superiors didn't know about until they'd been accidently found out. Sounded like someone else he knew.

"Annie, he has been known to go off book – sort of like I did with Liza Hearn. I'm beginning to think he may really be okay, but be careful anyway," Auggie whispered into Annie's ear. Two soft coughs followed acknowledging that she understood his words.

Maybe five minutes later, Auggie heard Mr. Grey ask the taxi driver to pull over in the next block and let him out, and then tell Annie that her destination was just another block up and that he'd see her there in a few minutes, but he was going the rest of the way on foot.

##########

Annie's anxiety level fell a good five points when she heard Auggie's words comparing himself to this Mr. Grey, and another fifteen when he'd gotten out a block before her destination. She was now back to a normal mission nervousness level – alert and cautious. She wasn't completely comfortable with the mission, but much more so than a few minutes ago. Mr. Grey had gotten out in front of the Hard Rock Café, and her destination was the Athenaeum Hotel in Piccadilly, the next block down.

The taxi turned onto Bond Street and pulled to the curb. The driver got out and retrieved her bag from the boot. He set it on the sidewalk while Annie fished in her black leather tote to find her wallet. She extracted a few pound notes of various denominations and paid her fare with a generous tip for the driver. Placing her billfold back into her bag along with passport and most of the items she'd acquired the last two days in Lisbon and Paris, she pulled her suitcase along behind her as she traversed the few yards to the Main entrance of her luxury hotel.

At the desk she registered for her room and confirmed her reservations for tea at 13:30 and a massage at 17:00. She followed the bellhop up to her room. After he'd settled her suitcase on the stand, and she tipped him, Annie closed the door behind him, let out a sigh and leaned heavily against the door for a few moments. Slowly she moved to her suitcase and retrieved her toiletry bag before heading into the bathroom to freshen up. She slipped out of the shirt and shorts she'd been wearing and into the sundress she'd been instructed to purchase in Paris.

Annie checked her watch and headed down to the Garden Room for tea. Once she entered, the maitre'd asked for her name and she was shown to a table with an older gentleman already seated there.

"Good Afternoon, Ms Anderson," he said as he stood to hold her chair for her. "I'm Herr Rottman. Wolfgang Rottman. Please have a seat."

Annie took her seat, placing the black leather tote on the floor beside her.

"Good Afternoon, Herr Rottman. And to what do I owe the honor of your company?"

A movement in another part of the dining room caught Annie's eye. Earl Grey was being seated a few tables away. She did not make eye contact with him, or in any other way acknowledge his presence. Herr Rottman didn't seem to register the extraneous movements around him; he kept his dark eyes on Annie.

"I like to be seen in the company of lovely women," he said seductively. "And I believe you have some items for me?"

Annie gave him a closer look. The person she was to make the exchange with was supposed to have facial hair – Herr Rottman sported a full beard and mustache; was to be wearing a suit and tie with a pocket square matching her dress – he had on a dark gray suit and a tie and pocket square to match her dress; and he was to use a certain phrase – and he'd said that he liked to be seen in the company of lovely women. He'd passed the assessment.

"Yes, I believe that I may," Annie said cautiously. "Do you have something for me?"

"Yes, I believe that I do," he said with a barely noticeable German accent. He pulled an envelope from the inside pocket of his suit coat and placed it on the table. He then took a bite of the finger sandwich on the plate in front of him.

Annie took one of the delicate pastries from the tiered serving tray, and then took a bite. The raspberry tartlet was wonderful and the Borengajuli Assam tea was top notch, too. Slowly Annie brought the leather tote into her lap. One by one she withdrew the packages she'd acquired from it and placed them on the table.

Wolfgang selected one and opened it. He examined the contents, a diamond bracelet, carefully. A satisfied smile worked its way across his face. He opened another of the jeweler's boxes and looked closely at the ring inside. He seemed highly pleased.

"You have done well, Ms Anderson," he finally replied replacing the ring in the box before setting it to the side of his plate with the bracelet box. He then eased the other packages to his side of the table and placed them in a tote bag almost identical to the one that Annie carried.

Annie reached across the table for the envelope. Once she had it in her hand she started to rise from her seat.

"Not so fast, Ms Anderson," Herr Rottman quickly said. "We are not quite finished with this business. That envelope only contains half of the information. You'll get the rest of it after we finish Tea and go up to your room. There is another part of this transaction, remember."

"Oh, I almost forgot that," Annie replied innocently. She extended Tea out as long as she could without making it obvious that she was stalling. She thought of Auggie on the other end of her earwig having to listen to her. He'd already said that he couldn't do this, yet, as far as she knew, he was still in her ear.

A few minutes later she heard him in her ear reassuring her that he had her back and that Jai was in place if needed.

When it was painfully obvious that the table was needed, and she could delay no longer, Annie rose from her seat and headed off toward her room. Herr Rottman followed behind. Mr. Grey had left the dining room earlier and Annie did not see him in the lobby or anywhere on the way upstairs.

When they arrived at her room, Annie inserted her key card into the slot and opened the door. Wolfgang Rottman held it open while she entered, and then followed her inside. Annie paused for a moment as she entered the main part of the room and surveyed her surroundings. Once again it seemed as if the room had been systematically gone through. A subtle movement in the bath caught her attention briefly.


	9. Chapter 9

Not the last chapter like I'd planned, but the muse took a bend that I did not expect until my fingers were pounding it out on the keyboard.

I owe a debt to girlwithoutfear for cleaning up this chapter as well as the previous one.

Disclaimer: still don't own. Wish I did. Wouldn't be so long before the show comes back on USA network.

* * *

After he closed the door, Wolfgang Rottman crossed to the bed and sat on its edge. He took off his jacket and loosened his tie before beckoning Annie to come to him. Cautiously, and with as much seductive swaying as she could muster, Annie strolled over to stand before him.

With a quick movement, Wolfgang pulled Annie's sundress over her head. She now stood before him in nothing but her matching Victoria's Secret bra and panties. Knowing what she was supposed to do, but not really in the mood to do it, Annie tugged Wolfgang's tie off, and began to unbutton his shirt. Once she had the shirt off, Annie began to stroke his chest with her index fingers. He was in good shape with well-toned muscles but with the slightest hint of a paunch beginning. She guessed that he was in his early forties. A scar on his left shoulder indicated that he'd been shot, and fairly recently, too. But his was not the chest that she wanted to be caressing at the moment.

His hands were kneading her buttocks, and his face was nestled between her breasts. He sighed contentedly. Slowly, seductively, his right hand found its way to her front and between her legs. Suddenly he stiffened.

Annie braced herself for potential words of displeasure.

"And what is this?" Wolfgang hissed at finding the mini-pad affixed to her panties.

"I – I'm on my period," Annie stammered. She was glad that he'd discovered that fact before he'd gotten too worked up.

He pulled back and extreme displeasure was splashed across his features. "Why do I always get women on the rag at the conclusion of my missions?" he seemed to think out loud.

"I wouldn't know about that Mr. Rottman. I'm not even sure why I was picked, except maybe for my linguistic skills. I speak Portuguese and French as well as a few other languages."

"Isn't that wonderful for you," he said in a tone dripping with sarcasm. "You're being on your period is not going to save you this time, Ms Anderson."

Annie took a step back and turned to flee. A firm hand grabbed her right wrist and held tight. She yelped in pain at that, and crumpled to the floor as Wolfgang backhanded her across the jaw.

##########

"Annie!" Auggie fairly screamed her name into his headset. He did not like what he was hearing through his feed from her. It appeared that the mission was going Tango Uniform rapidly. "Annie, are you all right?"

Silence in his headset.

"Annie, do you need me to send Jai in?"

This time he heard two coughs. He hurriedly dialed Jai's cell.

Jai's phone had barely rung in Auggie's ear when it was picked up. Jai seemed a bit breathless as he answered, "Wilcox."

"Get Annie out of there," Auggie yelled. He rose from his seat and began to pace around his work area, left hand ghosting along the edges of the glass topped desk and the table holding his monitoring console.

"We're on our way, Auggie."

"We?"

There was no further communication from Jai's phone, but Auggie heard the sounds of a door being broken down; and then sounds of more scuffling from Annie's earwig.

Auggie continued to pace for what seemed to him an eternity, before Jai spoke into his phone again. "Annie's safe. She'll have a good bruise on the side of her face where she was backhanded, but outside of being pretty badly shaken, she's physically okay. We have all the intel and Herr Rottman and his payment have been shoved out the door. I'll be taking Annie to our Embassy for the night. She's gathering her things together now."

"Did he …?"

"No, Auggie, he didn't have time to violate her before we got here," Jai reassured before ending the call.

Auggie checked the time. Joan should be in her office. He needed to report to her before he lost the fragile hold he had on his emotions. He was angry - no, livid was a better term - with Joan for sending his Annie on a mission that would have her deliberately engaging in casual intercourse and then had gone to the other extreme. It would do him no good if he took his frustrations out on his boss. It would not do Annie any good either. He steeled his features and checked his emotions as he knocked on Joan's door.

"Come in, Auggie. What's up?"

"I have information to report on Walker's op. She's completed it; she has the intel."

"And?" Joan asked expectedly.

"And we're going to owe the hotel for a repair bill. I had to send Jai in to keep her from being raped. Her being on her period did not deter him; it just pissed him off and he was going to have his way with her anyway. He beat her up pretty good before Jai got to her."

"Oh, Auggie, I'm so sorry," Joan said, lightly touching his arm. "That must have been so hard for you to hear."

"Huh? Why?" Auggie was confused why Joan would be apologizing to him. It was Annie to whom she needed to be offering her regret."

"I never thought this mission would come to that; or even the other either. I still would have sent Annie, but I would have insisted that Stu or Eric handle her so that you would not have to hear that sort of thing happening to her."

"Why not?" The more she spoke the more confused he became. Why was she telling him these things?

"Auggie, I know, Arthur knows, hell just about the whole company knows that you are head-over-heels for her. And, that she is the same for you."

"You do? They do? She is?" Realization dawned on him quickly. "How?"

"Have a seat Auggie, chair's about two feet straight in front of you."

Auggie located the chair and settled into it. This was the last place he thought that he'd be today.

"I know that you try to be professional around her, but, even though you try to hide them, the signs are there. You may not be able to see the way that she looks at you, but the love in her eyes when does is obvious to the rest of us. You two make a good team on so many levels. You have the company's blessing to pursue her. I think maybe she is going to need you when she gets back tomorrow."

"Thanks, Joan."

"I would imagine that you are very angry with us right now. Thank you for being civil to me."

"I don't think angry quite describes it," Auggie said evenly, and then chuckled softly. Joan was one of the few people who could get inside his head. Sometimes it seemed that she knew him better than he knew himself.

"Please know that the company is very unhappy with the way this operation went sideways for Annie. It is never our intention to cause harm to our officers."

"I know, Joan. I would be upset for any female agent to be in that position, but it was Annie," he said and stopped there knowing that he'd already said too much.

Joan's phone rang and Auggie got up to leave. Before he reached the door Joan called him back.

"It's Jai. He and Annie are in a taxi on their way to the embassy. He's got the doctor on stand-by to check Annie. They'll both be on the flight that Annie was to return on tomorrow."

"Thanks Joan," Auggie said as he exited Joan's office.

Once he'd gotten back to his office, Auggie dug out the file for Annie's mission. He checked for her flight data. She'd be flying out of London Heathrow on British Airway flight 217 at 11:10 AM and getting into Dulles around 2:30. He quickly calculated the time it would take to get through customs, and make their way back to the office. It would be at least 5 PM before Annie and Jai would be here, probably later than that. He knew that he'd be here for her when she did. He implicitly understood that he would have to wait until after Joan, and possibly even Arthur, had talked to her. Then she could have his shoulder, and anything else that she wanted from him. That is if – oh God, he suddenly thought, what if she didn't want to see him. What if the assault had so traumatized her that she would withdraw from him, or any man, again. What if she blamed him for what had happened to her? What if, she blamed him for not sending Jai to rescue her sooner? What if – a thousand what it's pounded in his head.

He reached for his phone and dialed a number that he'd not had reason to use in years.

* * *

Who is Auggie calling? Will any of Auggie's imagined 'What if's' happen?

If you feel like commenting go ahead.


	10. Chapter 10

Here's the next to the last chapter. We're getting back into what I do best - character study. Auggie and Annie come together, misunderstanding occurs. What will happen?

Thanks to girlwithoutfear for catching a couple of typos and offering encouragement to finish this. Sorry Mandy58. Another cliffy here.

Disclaimer: Don't own anything beyond my ideas (such as they are).

* * *

After three rings the phone was answered and Auggie said, "John, it's August Anderson. Got any free time this afternoon or tomorrow morning? I've got something important I need to talk to you about."

"Auggie. It's been a while. How soon can you get here? I'm free for the next hour or so."

"I can be there in five."

"Okay, I'll see you then," John said before hanging up.

As he exited his office, Auggie hoped that he remember the way to the company psychiatrist's office.

##########

Annie sat quietly between Jai and the man she only knew as Earl Grey for the quick taxi ride to the embassy. She was not surprised to see Jai busting through the door when Herr Rottman became violent, but was very surprised to see Mr. Grey coming in after him.

As soon as the men had pulled her attacker off her, Annie had grabbed up her clothes and fled into the bathroom. Even after she'd dressed, Annie stayed in the bathroom until she heard what was left of the door slam shut. She'd cautiously peeked out the door before entering into the main room.

"Are you all right, Annie?" Jai asked as soon as she'd stepped into the room.

"I've been better," Annie replied. "What's he doing here?" she asked looking at Mr. Grey with a steely gaze.

"He's the owner of the foot that burst open the door," Jai replied with chagrin. "He was already on his way here when I got the call from Auggie."

"He was? I thought …"

"I think I know what you thought about me," Earl Grey responded. "It was a calculated risk I had to take. I wasn't sure who, besides Mr. Wilcox here, was watching you. And I had to keep to my mission, too."

"Did you go through my things?"

"No, I didn't, but one of our techs came in and planted a listening device. We had reason to believe that Herr Rottman might get physical. Politics prevented our sharing of that information with your agency."

"Do you have anything left in the bathroom?" Jai asked as he folded the jean shorts she'd worn earlier and placed them in her open suitcase.

"Yeah," Annie said as she slipped back into the bathroom to retrieve her make-up bag.

##########

A little over twenty-four hours later, Annie and Jai were touching down at Dulles. Two hours later, they were seated in Joan's office. The debriefing did not take long, and soon Jai and Annie were walking out the door. Jai headed home, Annie headed toward Tech Ops.

She could see Auggie hunched over his desk, furiously keying something into his computer. Every so often he'd pause and run his fingers over the refreshable Braille display, before resuming entering data into the computer. Stu turned in his chair and said something to Auggie who immediately stopped what he was doing and looked up. Annie saw the serious look on his face soften into a smile. He seemed to look right at her.

Before Annie reached the door to Auggie's office, Stu and Eric had gathered their things and left the room. As he crossed the room, Stu stopped for a moment and gave Annie a quick once over.

"You look a lot better than I thought you would. I'm glad that you weren't badly injured," Stu said. He then leaned in toward Annie and whispered, "Auggie's been a nervous wreck all day. He's seriously worried about you."

"I'm fine, Stu. Thanks for the information," Annie said as she patted Stu's arm.

She quickly finished the few yards to Auggie's office door. As it closed behind her, Auggie got up and took a few steps toward her.

"Annie, how are you?"

"I'm actually pretty good. The bruise on my jaw is the worst, and even it's not that bad."

"How are you going to explain that to Danielle?"

"I'm going to tell her I walked into something while walking around a hotel room in the dark. She'll believe that. I can be quite the klutz sometimes."

"Annie, are you sure that you're okay? And I don't just mean physically. Even though it was 'in the line of duty', you were sexually assaulted. That can be so traumatizing for a woman."

"I'm fine there, too, Auggie. Outside of the bruise on my jaw, he didn't hurt me physically, or mentally."

"You're sure? You're not just telling me that so that I'll stop feeling guilty about not getting help to you sooner?"

Annie sighed in exasperation. "Auggie, for the third and final time, I'm okay. I'm okay, Auggie. There is nothing for you to feel guilty about. Jai and Mr. Grey got there in time. Yes, I was shaken for a bit, but I talked to the psychologist that the company sent in and I have an appointment tomorrow with the company psychiatrist."

"You going to see John?"

"No, Michelle."

"As long as you're going to see someone, I'll stop worrying and feeling guilty."

"You have absolutely nothing to feel guilty about or to worry over, Auggie. I promise." She took up his hand and placed in on the injured place on her jaw. "See, it's not that bad," she said as Auggie tenderly skimmed his fingers over the swollen place on her face.

"May I hug you, Annie?" Auggie asked softly.

"Since when do you need my permission to hug me?" Annie was both puzzled and alarmed. Something seemed to have changed in her relationship with Auggie and she didn't like it. Didn't like it at all.

"Just making sure that I was still welcomed to hug my woman," he whispered into her ear as he tenderly embraced her.

"Huh?" Annie questioned. She wasn't quite sure that she'd heard Auggie right. _His woman? Where did that come from?_

Auggie pulled out of the embrace.

Annie looked up at him as a flush grew in his cheeks and he closed his eyes. He looked to be very embarrassed. He took the few steps back to his desk and computer. Without bothering to sit down he made a few keystrokes on the keyboard. That done he grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair and snatched up his public cane.

"Is your car still here?"

"Yeah, need a ride?" Annie asked as he took her arm.

"Sort of. We need to talk, Annie."

"Allen's?"

"Not tonight. Someplace quieter. I was thinking the café by my place."

Half-an-hour later they were entrenched in Auggie's favorite booth. Annie could see why Auggie liked to eat here. The place had a casual, homey ambience; the menu wasn't pretentious, just good home-style cooking. And he seemed to be well-known and liked by everyone. Just about every adult in the place had called a greeting to him as he worked his way through the tables and chairs to the booth in the far back corner. He'd called everyone by name as they'd spoken to him. It made both of them smile by the time they'd taken their seats. The nervous awkwardness that had kept their drive from Langley to Georgetown silent seemed to slip from him as Auggie settled himself into the seat.

"Now, what is it that we need to talk about? I thought we had that settled the last time we were here,"

"We did, but London changed things for me," he said and then paused as the waitress brought wrapped tableware and menus – a regular one for Annie and a Braille one for Auggie.

"We just got new menus Auggie. Some prices have changed and some things are no longer available. We just got this back from the transcriber today," the waitress said as she placed the Braille pages in Auggie's hands before slipping away.

"What do you mean, Auggie? How have things changed?" Despite his words back in his office, an unwelcomed alarm overcame Annie. "Don't you want to be friends anymore? Is it because of what I had to do in London? Is it because of what happened to me in London?" Annie was so hurt and angry that she fairly spat the words across the table at Auggie. "I was told that sometimes men would see their female friends differently after they've been assaulted or almost assaulted. I didn't believe that about you, Auggie. How could you?"

"Annie, it's not like that," Auggie said reaching across the table searching for her hand.

Annie did not let him find it. She started to slide out of the booth.

Auggie moved faster and stood blocking her exit from her seat. "It's not what you think. Please give me a chance to explain." There was fear on his face and pleading in his voice.

All of the café patrons now had their eyes on the activity in the back booth.

The waitress approached Annie, "Is everything all right, Miss?"

"Huh?"

"The bruise. Auggie acting all possessive."

"Oh, Auggie didn't do that to me. We're just discussing the circumstances of how I did get it. Everything's fine," Annie said reassuringly and smiling over at a still agitated Auggie. "He just gets a bit aggravated at men who don't know how to properly treat a woman."

"Okay. But Auggie, if you get out of line with her, I will not hesitate in dialing 9-1-1."

"I know you would, Crystal, It will not come to that. I promise," Auggie reassured and flashed his patented smile. "I'm hungry. Is that Salisbury steak I smell?"

"Yeah, it's the special today."

"I'll have that. Annie?"

"Make it two," Annie replied.

When the waitress had gone, Auggie extended his right hand across the table. "Annie, please take my hand. I want you to listen to me carefully and don't rush to any snap judgments like you just did."

"Okay," Annie said placing her hand in Auggie's.

"In a good way, what happened in London did change things for me. It made me painfully aware of exactly how I do feel about you. And, I have good reason to believe that you feel more strongly about me than just as a male friend, too. Annie, I love you. There I've said it. I love you, Anne Catherine Walker. I want us to be a couple."

"I – I don't know what to say," Annie stammered. Auggie had just laid his heart wide open to her. She wasn't quite sure how to react. Yes, she'd told him that if she wanted a serious relationship she wanted it to be with him, but … this was happening way too fast. She looked at Auggie; the excitement that had been in him just moments before was slowly melting away the longer it took for her to respond. She squeezed his hand reassuringly before she withdrew hers from his.

Annie watched as Auggie slowly removed his hand from the table. She heard him sigh and saw his Adam's apple move as he swallowed hard.

"Ah, I see how it is. Blind guy professes undying devotion and the beautiful sighted girl runs screaming from the room, never to be seen again. Can we at least have a pleasant dinner before you drop me like a hot potato?"

"Now who's jumping to conclusions?" Annie said seriously. "It's not that at all, Auggie. You just dumped a whole lot on the table. Let me take a minute to wrap my head around it. And, Auggie, I'm not dropping anything or running anywhere."

"Okay, Annie. But what are you saying then?"

"What I'm saying is that I want – no need – to take half-a-step back and come at this another time and from another direction. I'm just a bit overwhelmed right now. Can I have a day?"

"As long as you're not walking away from me, yes, you can have a couple of days," Auggie said quietly and then a cautious smile began to curl the corners of his mouth only to vanish a heartbeat later.

A few moments later their meals arrived and Annie told Auggie where things were on his plate and on the table. A few minutes into eating, Auggie looked over in Annie's direction. He sighed, then said, "Annie, I'm not on the top of my game right now, would you mind cutting my meat for me?"

As she slid Auggie's plate towards her, Annie looked at him. For the first time she saw vulnerability in his demeanor instead of the quiet confidence that he usually exuded. Once she had completed his request, she slid the plate back in front of Auggie. He began to eat again, but his movements were slower and more tentative than she had ever noticed before. Annie tried to make small talk with him, but she could tell that he just wasn't into any of it. Finally he pulled out his wallet and withdrew several neatly folded bills that he threw down on the table. He slid out of the booth and slowly worked his way through the maze of tables and chairs, bumping into several chairs on his way out.

Before he was out the door, Annie was at his side taking hold of his hand. Together they slipped out the door.

"No, Annie. Not now. Not here. I said that I'd give you a couple of days. I mean that. Now, just go home and leave me be. Talk to the psychiatrist tomorrow. Have her help you figure out what it is you want. And if you don't want to be with me as much as I want to be with you then you just need to let me know that. Good night, Annie."

* * *

We're winding this one down. Only one more chapter (which is completed and almost ready to post).

Comment if you care to.


	11. Chapter 11

Here it is, the final chapter. I'm sorry, but the muse could not take this to the place that I think many of you would like to have had it go. But like SeeZee told me, "Your story, your characters ... It can turn out any way YOU want, and the rest of fanficdom will just have to deal with it."

So deal already. LOL!

For those who normally like my stuff, I am working on another story, but I have no idea when it will be ready to be posted here.

Disclaimer: Still don't own anything beyond my plot line.

* * *

Annie watched Auggie square his shoulders and walk purposefully down the sidewalk toward his apartment building, cane rhythmically sweeping before him. There was no swagger in his steps; he walked like a man defeated.

She had to follow him partway to her car. He could hear her following him, of this she was certain, but he did not turn around, or pause for her to catch up to him. When she got to her red VW, she simply got in and drove away. She did not look in her rearview mirror.

For the rest of the evening, until she fell into a fitful sleep, Annie was in a daze – a daze born of conflicting emotions, and of guilt. Under any other circumstances she would have been overjoyed to hear Auggie's declaration of love; but, despite her protestation to the contrary, what happened in London seemed to have affected her more than she'd thought.

Until Auggie's profession of love tumbled out of his mouth, Annie had thought that she'd weathered the attack in stride. Apparently she'd been deceiving herself. As his words hit her ears, she began to feel unworthy of them; she'd felt dirty. Another man had violently stripped her naked, had pinned her to the bed with her hands over her head; would have had his way with her had it not been for the two men busting through the door. What, it now appeared, bothered her about her part in all of this was her submission to it all. Despite her training and skills, she had not fought back. Why? That was the second question that she was going to ask the therapist when she saw her.

Annie woke later than usual the next morning. Despite the time crunch, she found herself lathering both her body and hair twice and allowing the hot water to flow over her until it ran lukewarm. After toweling herself dry, she pulled on a loose pair of slacks and oversized shirt from her own closet.

During the day at her desk writing up her mission notes, Annie had quietly observed Auggie. He was not acting normally: he was curt with those who dared to speak to him; and, she'd seen him walk into the edge of his desk several times and could tell that he had cursed loudly each time. Now it was her turn to feel guilty.

Just before her appointed time, Annie locked up her desk and headed off to her talk with the company psychiatrist. No sooner had she sat down before she began to purge her soul to the therapist: about Ben and her mourning for him – twice; about Auggie and her attraction to him, and how she now felt unworthy of his love and affection; about why she had not fought back in London. She'd spent a good twenty minutes sobbing until she could cry no more. Although she felt surprisingly cleansed after her crying jag, she still didn't feel worthy of Auggie, but she knew why she felt that way. And the reason had shocked her, and it had very little to do with the incident in London.

When she finished purging her soul with the therapist, Annie slowly walked back to the DPD office. She was clear in what she wanted. As she walked, she carefully constructed how she was going to tell Auggie.

Once she entered the DPD door Annie looked around for Auggie. Her quick survey of the office found him in his, earphones settled over his ears leaning back in his chair with his hands clasped behind his head. Both Stu and Eric were hunched over their keyboards furiously working away. With deliberate steps she crossed the room and entered Tech Ops.

As the door closed behind her, Auggie sat forward and removed the headphones. Stu looked up from his keying and was about to say something when Annie shot him a glare. He quickly turned back to his work.

"Annie?" Auggie said, the faintest glimmer of hope passing over his features.

"Auggie, please come with me. We need to talk," Annie said in a voice still husky from crying.

"Okay, Annie. Where are we going?" Auggie asked as he rose from his seat.

"You'll see," Annie said touching the back of his hand.

Auggie took her arm and replied with uncharacteristic sadness, "No, Annie, I won't see. And that's the problem."

"Auggie, please don't say that. Just come with me. And bring your other cane." She led him from his office to her car without either uttering another word. Even the twenty minute drive to the destination that Annie had chosen was accomplished with only the sound of the soft jazz emanating from Annie's sound system. Annie reached her destination and pulled into one of the vacant parking spots she was surprised to find in front of the café.

As soon as she'd shut the car off, Auggie fumbled for the door handle and opened his door. As he exited the vehicle he stumbled slightly on the curb. Before he closed the door he unfurled his cane and waited expectantly for Annie. "Where are we, Annie?"

"You don't know?"

"No, Annie, I do not. Not for sure anyway."

"We're back where this whole mess started yesterday. I figured if you were going to storm out again the least I could do was put you in familiar territory. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, Annie. It's okay."

A few minutes later, Annie and Auggie were once again seated in the back booth of the café. They received a few greetings from other diners.

Crystal, the waitress, approached the table. "You two aren't going to fight again in here again tonight are you? We don't allow fighting in here," she said seriously.

"No. I hope not anyway," Annie replied quickly.

"Do you want a menu, Auggie?" Crystal asked softly.

"No, Crystal. I wish that Sophia wouldn't go to the expense of having one transcribed just for me. I'd just like a cheeseburger, fries and a Coke."

Crystal looked from Auggie to Annie. "Annie?"

"Hamburger, fries and a Diet Coke, I guess." She gave a quick smile to Crystal.

"I know how Auggie wants his, how do you want your burger?"

"Lettuce, tomato, pickle, and a bit of mustard," Annie replied.

As soon as Crystal had left, Annie said to Auggie, "This one's on me, Auggie. Give me your hand."

"Why? You going to keep me from leaving if you say something I don't like?" Auggie responded with a bit of sarcasm.

"No, Auggie. I'll not stop you if you feel like leaving, but I hope that you'll not want to do that. I just need contact with you right now."

Auggie slowly eased his hand into the middle of the table. Annie curled her hand around it.

"Auggie, I know what I want. I want to be with you, but I'm not worthy of you."

"Annie? Why? Is it because of London? I don't care about London, except for what happened there showed me that I don't want to lose you."

Annie shook her head. "No, Auggie. Even if London hadn't happened I'd feel the same. I don't deserve you. You deserve someone who can give herself to you freely. Right now I'm afraid that I'm not capable of that."

"If anyone doesn't deserve someone it's me. I don't deserve you, Annie." He started to pull his hand away from hers.

Annie did not let his hand go.

"Is it because of Ben? Are you still hung up on Mercer?" Auggie looked puzzled, as if he was trying to put the pieces together, to make sense of Annie's words.

"In a way, but not the way that you mean. Ben was a fling. I understand that now. I was in love with the idea of being in love with him. It was lust, just lust that drove both of us then. That doesn't make for a lasting relationship."

"Annie, what are you saying here?" Auggie looked straight across the table at her. The corners of his mouth had an odd quirk to them and his head was tilted to one side.

"I'm saying that I want to be with you, but I need to know that I'm more than just one of your flings."

"Oh, Annie, you are so much more than a fling to me. I want us to be together for a long, long time."

"I understand that Auggie. I'm still not sure that I'm in love with you. I'm not sure that you'd not just be another fling to me."

"Tell me, Annie, be honest with me. Is it because I'm blind?"

Annie sighed in frustration. "Auggie, please climb down out of that tree. You're being blind has nothing to do with anything. I'm just not sure that I know the difference between love and lust."

"As long as my sight, or more to the point, my lack thereof, isn't a factor in your decisions," Auggie said with the faintest hint of a smile, "I think that I can deal with not being with you the way that I want."

Annie gave his hand a quick squeeze and withdrew her hand from the top of his. "Food's here," she said quietly.

Crystal placed the plates in her hands in front of Annie and Auggie. "I told Sophia what you said about the Braille menu for you. She said that they don't cost her a thing because one of her brother's daughters is a transcriber for the blind students at Georgetown. She does it just for the cost of her supplies which in just paper. Your Braille menu actually costs her less than the laminated menus for the rest of the customers." She patted Auggie on the hand. "Burger's on the right, fries on the left, bowl of mayo in the middle; just like always."

"Thanks, Crystal." Auggie gave her a genuine smile. He seemed to have relaxed a good bit in the last few minutes.

Annie took a bite of her hamburger, before reaching to the end of the table for the ketchup. She made a puddle of ketchup in the middle of her plate then dragged a fry through it. Across the table Auggie was greedily chomping on his cheeseburger. He almost seemed content.

"Annie, how does good old American fare compare to High Tea in London? You really seemed to be enjoying your tea and crumpets."

"That part was sort of okay. The food was out of this world, but I'll take a hamburger and fries with you any day."

"You would?" Auggie asked genuinely surprised. "I thought …"

"You thought that I was trying to gently let you down?"

"Yeah, I did. As long as it wasn't because of my eyes, I was getting used to the idea that I'd lost you, too."

"Too?"

"Like I had to give up Natasha."

"You're comparing me to Natasha? You were ready to give everything up for her, and you went to Iraq because of it."

"Yes, Annie. I'm comparing how I feel about you to how I felt about Natasha. And there is no comparison. I lost my sight because of her; I would lay down my life for you, Annie."

"Auggie, I had no idea that you felt that strongly."

"Like you were with Ben, I've been running from a serious relationship ever since Tash. I'm tired of running, Annie. I want to be a one woman man again for a while. Hopefully for a long time."

"I want to be with you, Auggie. I'm just not sure I can be there the way that you want me to, but I'm so willing to try."

"Fair enough."

The End

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Now that I've gotten back into the part that I do best and away from the unrealistic plot parts, I'd like to know what you thought of this final chapter. Comment/review?


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